>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation.

and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> this is "world news" today. president obama is due to announce his strategy for afghanistan. on the training ground now, but it could be the afghan battle next. the president is expected to commit up to 35,000 more troops. five britons held by iran at a time of tense relations between

the two countries. free to venture out, at least. for a. sri lanka opens up the camps holding tamil refugees. australia's political consensus on climate change breaks down. the opposition has a new leader, who was against the plans. >> it is 7:00 a.m. in new york, midday in london, and the 7:00 a.m. in the morning in washington. the speech says some are calling a defining moment in president obama's presidency. reaching a decision has been a long and sometimes agonizing process. all indications are that he will commit about 30,000 more troops and start an exit strategy.

here is jonathan. >> u.s. marines are preparing for war. this is how recruits are transformed into america's elite fighting force. soon they will be joining comrades on the frontline in afghanistan. the marines are ready for the president's order. there will be the first to the deploy. >> we expect that there will be some marines and soldiers that will get killed. that is why we have to continue our training. >> this onis one of two bases that trains marines. 22,000 new marines every year. they have been given a new identity. they are being trained to think of themselves as this recruit. >> he was not happy with his

last shot. he wanted a challenge. he wanted a change of pace. the marines would provide him with a lot of opportunities. >> after 9/11, even though i was only in sixth grade, i wanted to fight for this country. >> what is happening in afghanistan is never far from their minds. >> now that we're in training, boot camp, the recruits mines have changed a lot. >> it takes three months to complete basic training. it means learning to fight in every is a tuition. about 10% will fail to make the grade. for those whoo graduate, they will prepare to join in combat

units, and afghanistan. >> there's a sense of pride and enthusiasm. that is in contrast to the skepticism among the american public about the mission in afghanistan. >> for the families that come to celebrate this moment, there's a real sense of trepidation. >> it is a little scary about him going to fight and stuff like that. he is going to defend his country. i'm proud of tampa. >> president obama is taking his time. i am very happy i have a son in the marines. i want him to make the right decisions. >> as one group of recruits graduates, another takes its place. all of them now know that the marines will bear the brunt of the fighting. >> president obama has now spoken to the afghan leader,

hamid karzai. what is the afghan govement expecting from america? >> president obama has spoken to his afghan counterpart, and outlined his plans that he will give in a speech in the next few hours be the afghan government mobelieves it is there army douglas take charge across the country. that is something that america and its allies are on board with. president obama's expected announcement will be met by a discreedegree of afghans. one man put it very simply. he said every time america cents more troops to the country, the security situation simply gets worse. i think many other afghans will question the cost of this. they will ask why are billions

of dollars being spent on the military? why is it not been spent on aid and reconstruction projects. most afghans will say to that more soldiers is not the answer, that the only way this complex will be resolved is when the afghan government sits down with the taliban and others injured >>and negotiate. >> breaking news out of seattle. a sheriff's spokesman said police have badly shot the suspect in the shooting of four police officers. the suspect, maurice clemmons, was shot early tuesday in a seattle neighborhood. he is suspected of gunning down four police officers at the coffee shop on sunday born in. -- on sunday morning. more top stories this hour. a politician has been charged

with 25 counts of murder in the southern philippines. andal ampatuan jr. is accused of leading the massacre of more than 50 people. the killings took place last week when a convoy of people were ambushed as it went to register a powerful family bumper as a candidate in local elections. police in pakistan said a regional politician has been killed in a suicide attack. the bomber targeted a guest house. six others, including his brother, were seriously injured in the attack. one of the largest studies of the antarctic indicates that part of the country's ice shelf is melting at an alarming rate. the british government is demanding the immediate release of a group of people detained in

iran. the five men were sailing to dubai to take part in a race. they've been held over the last six days. the detentn was only made public on monday. >> four of the british sailors now held in iran. also captured was the radio presenter. oliver young's father bob's family life to return to normal as soon as possible -- wants family life to return to normal as soon as possible. >> we do not see any reason why it should not to be resolved quickly. we're still hopeful that he will be home in time for christmas. >> the bill is being sold by the captured men -- boat is being

sailed by the captured men. the foreign secretary david miller band stress and there are no concerns about how the captors are being treated. >> we understand that the five young people are being treated well, which is good and right. we are hopeful this will be resolved soon. we look forward to the statement from the ministry of foreign affairs in iran later today, which i hope will shed light on where the men are, and what the prospects are for them to be released quickly. >> reports from iran said the country is ready to take part in serious measures, if necessary. a crew of 15 were held for two weeks before been paraded on television and data released.

>> they have been held for six months since the sri lanka civil war ended, and now the gates of the camps have opened. tamil refugees are allowed to spend time outside by the government of sri lanka. in the final months of the fight between the government and the tamil tigers, thousands fled the war zone in the north of sri lanka. they moved into camps. there were an estimated two hundred 80,000 people in the camps when the war ended in may, living in cramped conditions. more than half were released in recent months amid pressure from human rights groups and foreign governments. by january 31, the camps will be closed completely. our correspondent -- we asked him if the refugees were taking

advantage of the camp gates opening. >> people are taking advantage in large numbers. they are piling into the local buses. a lot of them are going to the nearest town, where their shopping and any medical checkups. there visiting friends and relatives. they are just pleased to be out after so long. not only have these people been in camps between six months and 10 months, before that, there were in a war zone. by all accounts, there were kept as human shields by the tamil tigers. they have not known freedom for a long time. in some cases, years. this is a new development for them to be able to get out. the authorities have made it clear, and this is what the people have said, that they will

not be allowed to stay of more than 15 days. they will be registered. if they try to go absent without leave, they will be tracked down. >> we will have a full business report in 25 minutes. i guess it is going to be dubai again. shares in the emirates took a tumble again today. >> in the case of dubai and abu dhabi, yes, one day's losses compounding on the other. the general consensus in europe is others a bit of a problem, but it is confined to the region. talk about contagion is premature. dubai world's initial debts were recorded at $59 billion. they have said it is actually $26 biion. there appears to be -- leader of dubai has said that although dubai world is owned by the

government, it was established as an independent company. therefore, when companies lend it money, they did so because they did so on the ability of the projects, rather than the government giving some sort of assurance. they're trying to distance themselves and limit the damage. >> we will get more on that later. thank you. >> thank you. >> the australian government's plans to pass new carbon trading laws have been dealt a major blow. prime minister kevin rudd was counting on the opposition liberals. they're not elected a new leader who will block the plans. >> kevin rudd has been in washington, away from the turmoil that has caused his main political rival the leadership of the libel party, plans to create a emissions' scheme

before the conference in copenhagen. the former liberal leader agree to a deal. the rudd government does not command the but majority. that sparked an angry the rebellion from skeptics within his party, who reject the scientific case for man-made global warming, and believable be remruinous for the economy of australia. they have installed tony abbott as leader. he has vowed to block the legislation, even if it triggers an early election. >> as far as many millions of australians are concerned, what the rudd government looks like is a great big tax to create a great big slush fund to provide politicized handouts run by a

giant bureaucracy. >> if the senate rejected the emissions trading scheme, it would provide kevin rudd with a trigger to call a snap election. the moderate liberals have warned about the once domina party would face political oblivion if it went before the electorate, expressing skepticism about global warming. >> kevin rudd is a hugely popular prime minister, who has seen australia through the economic downturn without a going into recession. his criticism of the former government's decision helped him get elected. it would inevitably be billed as the climate change election. >> this is "world news" today. obama's afghan search. we will explore.

-- obama's afghan surge. >> the international court of justice has started hearings to determine whether kosovo declaration of independence from serbia was in line with international law. in the center of belgrade they stand. the mangled shells of buildings bombed by nato one year ago. the goal was to withdraw troops from the southern province of kosovo. nato called it a humanitarian catastrophe and went to war with yugoslavia. >> nine years after the bombing, kosovo declared independence, which serbia calls illegal. now the international court of justice is to decide for the first time were othewhether a tl

secession broke international law. >> what is serbia try to achieve? the president said it could end up providing an opportunity for fresh negotiations. >> this is not about kosovo independence. this is about starting from a white page, starting from the beginning to talk with a good will to achieve real compromise and sustainable solution. >> the international court of justice will issue an advisory opinion. it will not be legally binding. some believe it could set a legal precedent for elsewhere in the world. the verdict is likely to affect whether kosovo attains a wider recognition, which belgrade is hoping to avoid. >> whatever the courts decide, many will see the cherished southern province as a cradle of southern orthodoxy.

>> this is "world news" today. tens of thousands more troops are expected to be sent to afghanistan went president obama unveils his new military strategy. iran has said five british men it is holding will be dealt with firmly if it is proved they entered the iraian territorial waters with what iran kohl's bill intentions -- iran calls ill-intentions. >> military commanders briefed on the new stregy, and now president obama is set to share his plans for afghanistan with the rest of the world. it is not just about troop numbers. people will want to hear how much the surge will cost, how it will be paid for, and how long

it will last. president obama is hoping for a good response from nato partners. joining me from washington is the vice president and director of government studies at brookings institution in washington. thank you very much for being with us. let us look at how we got to this decision. why is it proved so difficult for president obama? it has taken weeks and weeks and loads of meetings. >> it is complex in terms of the military strategy. also very difficult politically for president obama. democratic members of the house and senate are openly skeptical about sending additional troops. obama will require political support from republicans to be able to pay for this military move. >> all the accounts we are getting is a suggestion of

something like 30,000 troops. that is perhaps less of a surprise. it looked as if it was going that way. what about this exit strategy? one wonders how he can do that. how can you possibly know when american troops can leave? >> president obama understands from the standpoint of american public opinion that people need an exit strategy. we have been in afghanistan for eight years already. the patiencef the american public is starting to wear thin. president obama is going to establish performance benchmarks for the afghan government. they have to dramatically increase the size of the afghan military. the police have to get much more engaged in protecting the people in a country. obama is going to lay out the timetable, the benchmark, and what will allow the united states to leave afghanistan. >> you say the president will establish benchmarks. one of those benchmarks worth?

name one benchmark that the karzai government has met today. why does the president or anybody in washington think it will be any different? >> the afghan government has not been very good at meeting benchmarks. in iraq, we filed a similar approach. once you let the local government know that you are not going to stay there indefinitely, they have to take responsibility for their own security. they will step up to the plate. that happened to iraq. the level of violence is way down compared with two or three years ago. we need the same kind of commitment from the afghan government. if they do not do that, they will be on their own to fight al-qaeda. >> is that the implied threat, that these benchmarks are real and if you do not meet them, we are getting out? >> absolutely, president obama is very serious about the benchmarks. he understands we cannot continue the open ended commitment.

politically, obama will face a lot of pressure from his own party in congress. the afghan government will have to step up and take additional responsibility. if they do not do that, we eventually will be pulling out of afghanistan. >> an exit strategy can work. i can see y it is politically important. there might be those who say that if you tell taliban when you're going to leave, they will just sit it out and wait. >> that is certainly a lot republican critics say. vice president cheney has botched the critique against the obama policy. if you look at iraq, we delayed on benchmarks for them. they then stepped up to the plate. as long as they are dependent on the united states, they have far fewer incentives to take this seriously. once we set benchmarks, they

realize they need to take responsibility for their own protection. if they do not do that, they will be left to their own devices. >> the president has been speaking to leaders around world. all the signs are that the nato allies are not going to come up with the 10,000 troops that this plan apparently requires. how much of a problem will that be? >> the bulk of the trp increase will come from american troops. we're expecting obama to announce that he will send an additional 30,000 troops, which is a little below what mcchrystal requested, but in the ballpark. obama thinks that those troop levels, along with additional suppt from nato allies, will be sufficient to protect afghanistan. >> thank you for your time.

thank you. you can watch president obama speech from the west point military academy live on bbc. time for a change of year. >> we are going to start with tiger woods. we think we know where he is, but he is not talking. he says he is extremely disappointed to not take part in his own golf tournament. he has released a statement. he is pulling out of the tournament because of the injuries he suffered in a car accident three the event begins on thursday. the 33-rolled had been due to hold a prix tournament news conference this thursday freed up will not be happening. he has so far refused to meet with local police. apart from releasing a brief statement on his web site, in which he asked for privacy, and said he was to blame for the crash. he has maintained a virtual

silence. the chevron goes ahead without him. the disgraced american sprinter wants to jump through the hoops. she is 34 now. she won five gold medals at the sydney olympics. she was exposed other drugs to treat and stripped of all of those medals. jones spent six months in prison last year. she is now out and hoping for a tryout with the u.s. women's basketball league. in football, the buffalo and argentina for word has won he was voted the best player in the world. he has dedicated the award to his family. he received more than twice as many votes as renaldo.

that is it for the moment. >> thank you very much. president obama is set to unveil his new strategy for afghanistan. it's expected to include in and give a scenario for the u.s. involvement. the president has signed a the deployment order for new troops and briefed military commanders and four leaders, including the president of pakistan. for more details on that and several other stories, you can always log on to our web site, bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community.